hey guys, i picked up a Night Force scope, scope is in great condition but it has been painted with Krylon. i want to remove the paint but obviously do not want to damage scope and make a very expensive mistake.

i have used Citristrip on guns before and it works great, would carefully applying it and wiping it off the scope work? any other preferred methods?

Try using acetone on a small area.  I've cleaned a Leupold VX-111 that was painted flat green for camo.  Acetone is inexpensive in pint cans at Wally World.  -Ed

Is the body of the scope anodized aluminum? I've gone to TOWN before on a painted lower with acetone and a brass brush and it didn't damage it at all.

If you have nail polish remover at home it's often acetone and would be plenty to strip a scope.

I used a non-toxic biodegradable graffiti remover I got from Home Depot to remove Aerove paint from a Trijicon Accupoint and it worked great. No damage to the scope, not even the rubber.

Just another Acetone comment. It removes a lot of paints, including most of the good ones.

This is the stuff I use on optics.



It's not as fast as some paint removers (the kind that'll burn your skin), but it doesn't risk damage to rubber seals and such.  Spray it on and let it soak.  If it dries up, spray on some more.  Then go at it with a stiff bristled toothbrush.  If you get to much paint residue all over, rinse the optic off in the sink then re-spray it.  It'll take a few hours, but it'll work.

It took my VCOG from looking like this:



to looking like this:

Be sure to cover the glass extremely well to avoid splashing them and affecting the coating on the glass.